smARtsKin

Investigators

Summary

Exact patient positioning in radiotherapy is crucial for accurate targeting of tumors and sparing of organs-at-risk. The aim of this project is to develop a camera based guidance system for patient positioning and monitoring. The so-called smARtsKin system is also capable of displaying patient support devices to check for potential collisions with the linear accelerator prior to treatment as well as continuously monitoring the patient’s position and breathing and therefore can considerably improve patient safety.

The heart of the approach is based on augmented reality (AR) technology. The smARtsKin system superimposes relevant patient contours onto real-time camera feeds of the patient during set-up and treatment to visualize differences between the planned treatment position and the current position of the patient. Using this approach, patient misalignment and deformations as well as miss-positioned immobilization devices can be detected and corrected either prior to corrections based on on-board volumetric imaging or during treatment if continuous monitoring indicates patient movement. A prototype of the system has been tested and improvements such as the integration of real-time surface measurements with the infrared Kinect camera are work in progress.